Increasing steel production rates in Japan are making Japanese yards increasingly reluctant to offer cargoes to China, market sources told Fastmarkets this week. Better margins to be found in Japan's domestic marketTaiwan continues to chase containerized cargoesContainer scrap offers to Bangladesh fall amid sluggish demandChinaA slowdown in downstream demand has continued to weight on spot demand...Read More
Steel rebar and billet buyers in Egypt are waiting for prices to fall further before placing orders, sources told Fastmarkets.Global billet and rebar prices have recently been weakening; buyers in Egypt are waiting for prices to flatten before placing orders.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet import, cfr main port Turkey was $610-620 per tonne on September 16, falling from $620-...Read More
Steelmaker Arvedi is in the process of purchasing fellow Italian stainless steel producer Acciai Speciali Terni (AST) from Thyssenkrupp, the German steelmaker said on Thursday September 16.The sale, which is subject to approval by Thyssenkrupp's supervisory board and merger control clearance, also includes associated sales organizations in Germany, Italy and Turkey. The sale is expected to be comp...Read More
Base metals prices on the LME and SHFE were mixed on the morning of Friday September 17, with most remaining listless despite being buffeted by a firmer US dollar, generally weaker economic data and disruption to both production and supply.Broader markets were quiet but firmer heading into the weekend and China's Mid-Autumn Festival holiday takes place on Monday and Tuesday.Base metalsThree-month...Read More
Growing domestic and international demand for copper scrap has reduced discounts in the copper scrap market in the United States. "Demand is out of control globally. Spreads are coming in good," one seller said.China in particular is "very hungry for copper scrap," another seller said. "Maybe with the changing quality standards, they're getting less material offered to them. But if you c...Read More
The hard coking coal cfr price rose on Thursday September 16 after Wednesday's surge in the premium hard coking coal cfr price, while offer prices for US-origin coking coal rose further, with market participants in China reluctant to procure material.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $560.76 per tonne, up $0.76 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $486.93 per tonne, up...Read More
Domestic prices for steel wire rod in Italy have widened downward over the past seven days amid sluggish buying, a decline in scrap prices and the availability of cheap imports, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday September 15.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh quality), domestic, delivered southern Europe, was ?,?800-845 ($945-998) per tonne on Wednesday, widening downward b...Read More
Global trade flows of cobalt metal have been frozen by logistics disruptions including high freight costs and a shortage of available containers, market participants have told Fastmarkets.Cobalt metal is a highly liquid commodity, with traders moving metals on their books around the globe depending on price differentials between Asia and Europe.But in the past 2-3 months, such trade flows have bee...Read More
Imports of aluminium scrap into the United States fell by 6.22% month on month to 62,949 short tons in July compared with 67,130 short tons the month prior after a rise in deliveries of used beverage cans (UBCs) was outweighed by a drop in volumes of industrial and other aluminium scrap, according to the latest data from the US Commerce Department. But year-to-date aluminium scrap deliveries total...Read More
Turkish steel mills withdrew from the deep-sea scrap markets after booking several cargoes for October shipment, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday September 16.Turkish steelmakers have booked at least five deep-sea cargoes so far in the reported week from the United States, Canada and Baltic Sea. Market participants generally agree that most steelmakers in the country have replenished their sto...Read More
Steel rebar and billet buyers in Egypt are waiting for prices to fall further before placing orders, sources told Fastmarkets.Global billet and rebar prices have recently been weakening; buyers in Egypt are waiting for prices to flatten before placing orders.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet import, cfr main port Turkey was $610-620 per tonne on September 16, falling from $620-...Read More
Turkish rebar and wire rod export prices remained largely unchanged this week due to a lack of demand, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday September 16.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), export, fob main port Turkey, was stable week on week at $660-670 per tonne on Thursday.The country's steelmakers have been offering the material for export...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices continued to fall on Thursday September 16 amid sustained demand weakness, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $107.21 per tonne, down $9.44 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $108.16 per tonne, down $9.64 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $79.65 per tonne, down $8.88 per tonne65% Fe...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in China rose on Thursday September 16, with the latest industry data pointing to continued declines in both output and inventories.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,780-5,830 yuan ($897-904) per tonne, up by 50-70 yuan per tonneThe China Iron and Steel Association (Cisa) said on Thursday morning that daily output of crude steel from its member mills averaged 2.04...Read More
Domestic rebar prices in China recovered from two days of decreases on Thursday September 16 on a pick-up in demand with improved weather. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,580-5,620 yuan ($867-873) per tonne, up by 100 yuan per tonneWith Typhoon Chanthu moving away from China after landing in Zhejiang province late last week, the weather in most parts of the...Read More
Austria Metall AG (AMAG) has committed to carbon neutrality by 2040 and has called for politicians to create a framework for the stable supply of green energy at competitive prices in good time.The company laid out its strategy to achieve net-zero carbon emissions, which will focus on increased recycling, energy efficiency and the replacement of fossil fuels.Like its peers in the metals and mining...Read More
Australian miner Whitehaven Coal's Vickery Extension Project has been approved by the federal government, it said on Thursday September 16.The project comprises an open-cut coal mine and other infrastructure about 25km north of Gunnedah town in New South Wales. It will produce mainly coking coal for steelmaking, with the rest being high-quality thermal coal for export.The mine...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday September 16 that are worth another look....Read More
Service Center Metals (SCM) will invest $101.7 million on the largest expansion in its almost 20-year history, the Richmond, Virginia-based aluminium extrusion maker said on Tuesday September 14.The state of Virginia additionally will contribute $1.25 million in grants for SCM's expansion in Prince George County, a company spokesperson confirmed to Fastmarkets.The company will construct an alumini...Read More
There was a divergence in London Metal Exchange prices in the morning of September 16, with lead being the only metal to register gains, while copper, aluminum and nickel all fell - with the latter down by almost $1,000. Lead's three-month price, after a few days of persistent selling, was up by a slight $7 to $2,242 per tonne on Thursday at 9am. On Wednesday, the metal touched $2,213 per tonne, i...Read More